The concept of on-the-go twist-on wire connectors for connecting the junction of two or more wires together by twisting a housing around the ends of wires is old in the art. Twist-on wire connectors are well known in the art and generally comprise an outer open end housing with a tapered threaded interior, such as a spiral thread, to permit a user to insert wires into the tapered threaded interior. To use a twist-on wire connector, the user inserts the ends of electrical wires into the spiral threaded cavity on the inside of the wire connector. The user then holds the wires in one hand and with the other hand twists the wire connector. The twisting action pulls the wire ends into a low resistance electrical contact with each other in one continuous motion without the need for special tools.
If the twist-on wire connector is located in a wet location it is necessary to place a waterproof sealant around the wire connector. In order to prevent water or moisture from entering the connector and forming an oxidation layer over the ends of the wire, the user can insert the entire wire connector or at least the wire ends into some type of a waterproof potting compound. The compound may be either a non hardening or a hardening compound. In either case the compound creates a waterproof capsule over the junction ends of the electrical wires.
The prior art process is time consuming because it involves two separate steps as well as the nuisance of having separate potting compounds and containers to hold the potting compound.
A second generation improved twist-on wire connector exits where the wires can be encapsulated and sealed in a twist on wire connector to prevent water or moisture from entering the connector and is shown in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,037; 5,023,402 and 5,151,239. The second generation twist-on wire connectors permits the user in one continuous action to simultaneously form the junction ends of wire leads into a low resistance electrical connection that is surrounded by a waterproof sealant to form either a waterproof covering around the junction ends of the wire leads or a water-resistant covering over the ends of the electrical wires. These are two of the types of twist-on wire connectors available for use in different environmental conditions.
Under certain dynamic conditions, such as vibration and shock, or large temperature changes the wires in the twist-on wire connector can become loosened and thus lower the integrity of the connection between the wires in the twist on wire connectors by either increasing the electrical resistance or decreasing the contact area or both.
In my copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 09/987,780 titled LOW TORQUE TWIST-ON WIRE CONNECTOR filed Nov. 16, 2002 I disclose a third generation electrical twist-on wire connector wherein the integrity of the low resistance electrical connection of the twist-on wire connector is enhanced by placing a small amount of self-adhering lubricant in the twist-on wire connector. Generally, to enhance the electrical conductivity between wires one needs only a small amount of self-adhering lubricant to provide an enhanced low resistance electrical connection. My copending application points out incorporating a small amount of a self-adhering lubricant into the twist-on wire connector results in an enhanced low resistance electrical connection between the wire ends.
In the Low Torque Twist-on Wire Connector I permit a user to form the ends of two or more wire leads into a low resistance electrical connection by having the twist-on wire connector contain a self adhering lubricant located along a portion of the interior of the twist-on wire connector. In operation of a twist-on wire connector the wires are drawn into the housing by a spiral thread through the twisting action of the wires with respect to housing. As the wires are drawn into the spiral thread, the frictional resistance to the rotation of the wires increases until the wires can no longer be hand twisted into the wire connector. With use of a lubricant on the spiral threads the wires, which are drawn into contact with the lubricant, one decreases the torque resistance for the same number of turns without the lubricant. That is, the torque resistance, which is a result of frictional resistance between the wires and the spiral thread decreases. Consequently, the torsonial resistance decrease allows the wires to be brought into further electrical contact through only hand tightening while at the same time the radially compressive forces on the wires become greater by being forced into a smaller volume thus ensuring a low resistance electrical connection that remains stable over an extending period of time. Because only a small amount of self-adhering lubricant is needed within the wire connector to provide an enhanced low-resistance electrical connection problems of the self-adhering lubricant accidentally coming into contact with the exterior housing of other twist-on wire connectors is minimized even if caps are not used on the twist-on wire connectors.
While my aforedescribed low resistance electrical connector shows one how to enhance electrical conductivity between two or more wires in a twist on wire connector without the aid of tools the current carrying capacity between the wires in a twist-on wire connector is primarily determined by the amount of surface contact area between the ends of the wires which is increased as a result of forcing the ends of the wires into a smaller volume and greater surface to surface contact. It is also known in the art to enhance electrical conductivity between the ends of wires by surrounding the electrical leads with a metal conductor such as molten solder or the like and allowing the molten solder to solidify around the ends of the wires. The use of solder or the like in twist on wire connectors is generally disliked not only because it requires additional steps and time but it also makes the connection permanent.
One of the ongoing difficulties with the field use of twist-on wire connectors is that in order not to have an inordinate number of different size twist-on wire connectors one size twist-on wire connector is used for multiple wires of different sizes. A typical twist-on wire connector generally lists usable wire combinations according to the number of wires and the size of the wires. For example, a twist-on wire connector might state the usable number of wire combinations as follows: 1 or 2 #10 wires, 1 #10 wire with 1-3 #14 wires, 1 #10 wire with 1 or 2 #12 wires, 2 #10 wires with 1 #14 wire, 1-4 #12 wires, wires, 2 #14 wires with 2-4 #16 wires, 2 #12 wires with 1-2 #14 wires, 2 #12 wires with 1 or 2 #18 wires, 2-5 #14 wires, 4-6 #16 wires or 1 #16 wire with 4 #18 wires. As a result of the number or wires used as well as the variation of size of the wires used the surface contact area between wire ends and consequently the current carrying capacity between the ends of the wires varies in accordance with the size of the wire leads as well as the number of wire leads. That is, if the contact area between the ends of the electrical wires is relatively small a greater opportunity exists for exceeding the current carrying capacity of the wire junction and overheating the junction. Conversely, if the contact area between the ends of the electrical wire is relatively large the chances of exceeding the current carrying capacity of the junction between the wires is reduced.
Still other connectors, which are used with aluminum wires have been filled with an anti-oxidant paste for the purpose of preventing the formation of an oxidation layer on the exterior surface of the aluminum wire since the aluminum oxide has high electrical resistance which can cause the junction between the wires to overheat.
The present invention provides an improved on-the-go twist-on wire connector that provides an electrical connection between the ends of wires with the electrical connection having improved current carrying capacity even when used with wires of different sizes or multiple wires and at the same time retaining the convenience of conventional twist-on wire connectors.
The present invention provides an improved on-the-go twist-on wire connector that in one embodiment contains multiple mediums, a first medium comprising an electrical conductive material that is present around the ends of the wires to enhance the current carrying capacity between the free ends of the wires and a second medium comprising a topical non-electrical conductive material separate from the first medium with the topical barrier extending over the electrical conductive material to maintain the electrical conductive material in the closed end of the twist on wire connector.